Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, said he would reconsider the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) after the end of the war with Iran.
On the 30th (local time), Minister Rubio appeared to rebuke NATO for an uncooperative attitude toward the United States during an interview. According to the State Department, Minister Rubio said he was "very disappointed in NATO" and that "we will have to reassess everything after the operation."
Earlier, NATO countries effectively refused to dispatch and send warships to the Strait of Hormuz, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to publicly criticize them, saying they were "making a very foolish mistake."
In particular, Minister Rubio pointed out that some NATO members did not grant U.S. forces the right to station at military bases.
Rubio said, "One reason NATO benefits the United States is that it grants basing rights in an emergency," adding, "But NATO members like Spain refused our use of their airspace and bragged about it, and other countries acted similarly."
He added, "If NATO only receives our defense when Europe is under attack and refuses basing rights when we need them, that is not a good deal," stressing, "We need to reassess everything." It suggests the United States could withdraw from NATO.
Earlier, President Trump also hinted at withdrawing from NATO. On the 27th, Trump said, "Because we spend hundreds of billions of dollars on NATO every year, the United States would make a lot of money if it withdrew from NATO," adding, "Given their behavior, it seems we don't need to be by their side."
Minister Rubio added, "I hope we can fix this to be mutually beneficial," while noting, "We will have time to deal with it later."
Meanwhile, when asked to name Iran's minimum concessions for ending the war, Minister Rubio cited "a system that can rapidly weaponize nuclear capability," urging, "Iran must stop all drone and missile production."
Regarding Iran's demand for control of the Strait of Hormuz as a condition for ending the war, he emphasized, "Tolls and the like would be unacceptable to the world," and "The United States will never accept such terms."
That day, there were reports that the Iranian Parliament's National Security Committee approved an administrative plan to apply toll regulations to ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
On President Trump's warning that if negotiations with Iran fail, he would destroy and withdraw from all Iranian power plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island, Minister Rubio said, "The president's first point is that he prefers diplomacy."